Doctor Who may be the world’s longest-running sci-fi TV series, but it’s future is currently in doubt. The BBC’s partnership with Disney failed to deliver the viewing figures either party hoped for, and BBC bosses are currently trying to figure out what comes next. Russell T. Davies is returning for this year’s Christmas Special, but beyond that things are something of a mystery; the central issue is the simple one of funding, because modern sci-fi shows are a pretty expensive proposition.
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The BBC is definitely committed to Doctor Who. “It’s one of the BBC’s most treasured brands,” the BBC’s Director of Drama Lindsay Salt recently confirmed. “So it’s not going anywhere.” Surprisingly, she revealed that discussions haven’t even started on funding yet, likely reflecting current uncertainty about the BBC’s budget as a whole. “There are different ways of setting up a show,” she continued. “We just need to make sure we do it in the right way and make sure we take the right time to do it.” But decisions will need to be made sooner or later.
The Clock is Ticking for the Doctor Who Christmas Special
The issue lies with that all-important Doctor Who Christmas Special. Most viewers are assuming this will serve as something of a coda for Russell T. Davies’ second era, because Davies’ own future as showrunner is uncertain. The mastermind behind Doctor Who‘s 2005 relaunch, Davies’ second run has been a lot less popular, and the general opinion is that the show needs something fresh and new. But where does Doctor Who go from here?
Doctor Who Season 15 ended with a shock regeneration, with Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor apparently replaced by former companion Billie Piper. We don’t really know what that means; whether she’s a new Doctor bearing a familiar face, or whether she’s actually the companion Rose Tyler, somehow blasting herself into the TARDIS. In either case, we can be confident Piper won’t be staying on as the next Doctor, because it would be far too big a nostalgia play.
When Chris Chibnall left as showrunner, there were concerns his Doctor Who run would come to a close with an open-ended finale; a regeneration where we never saw the face of the next Doctor. The problem is that such an ending would have been an obvious sign of the show’s having been put on hiatus, whether through BBC choice or simply as a result of uncertainty or an inability to find a replacement for Chibnall. All this raises the disturbing question; will the Christmas Special conclude in that kind of way? In truth, the BBC desperately need to avoid that kind of outcome.
A New Doctor Means a New Direction
All this means the clock is actually ticking on Doctor Who, if the worst possible ending for the Christmas Special is to be avoided. The BBC can afford to wait only so long before choosing a new Doctor, but that will inevitably mean other decisions will need to have been made as well – not least because any actor cast as the Doctor will want to know how the show fits into their schedules. If that open-ended final scene is not avoided, then it will serve as a symbol of the show’s ending – and once we’re past that point, it will be much harder to get things moving again.
All the evidence suggests Davies is trying to help. Multiple versions of the Christmas Special are reportedly in the works, likely with different endings to account for whatever decisions have been made by the BBC. That’s sensible, if a little disturbing, because it risks the final outcome feeling more than a little incoherent. But even then, there will come a point when Davies has to choose between the different versions.
It’s easy to see why BBC bosses are trying to calm speculation down by insisting there’s no rush. Doctor Who was cancelled once before by the BBC, and the fanbase has been fearful of another cancellation ever since it returned in 2005. The problem, though, is that these fears are currently well-founded, because the future really does look pretty uncertain. The BBC need to make a decision sooner rather than later, in time for the Christmas Special to serve as launchpad of a new era rather than feel like a finale.
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